Gutter-end-forming clamp.



W. B. SHOEMAKBR.

GUTTER END FORMING CLAMP. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 31, 1912.

1,093,950. J Patented p 21, 191

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5';iil'fhiiiW' enrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE- WILLIAM B. SHOEMAKER, OF GALESBURG, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GUSTAVE WENZELMANN, OF GALESBURG, ILLINOIS.

GUTTER-END-FORMING CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914..

Application filed May 31, 1912. Serial No. 700,757.

Clamp, of which the following is a specification.

One of the most difficult and tedious operations known to tiusmiths is that of form ing or crimping and'battering the ends of gutters or eaves troughs. This is especially true of slip-joint gutters, because of the fact that there has heretofore been constantdanger, even when great care was exercised, of pressing the female or receiving end parts together or otherwise mutilating them to such an extent that the male member could not be inserted.

T he principal object of my invention is to provide a clamping device in which various sizes of gutter sections may be firmly and securely held, without in any manner mutilating or destroying the symmetryof the held end.

Another object is to provide a device with a suitable base which may be employed as an anvil.

Also it is an object to provide a co-acting, removable shaper, seatable on said base, on which shaper the operator may quickly and perfectly crimp the exposed edges of the gutter section, thereby placing it in condition ready for the final operation of battering it down to form the gutter-end. This last operation may with facility be performed on the anvil just above referred to.

It is another object to provide binding segments, one of which may be substituted for another, the convex portion of one, and the concave portion or face of the other (depending upon whether a relatively larger or smaller gutter section is being operated upon) being selectively employed.

That the mechanism constituting the means above recited be strong, durable and simple is a prime requisite; to provide such means for carrying out these ends constitutes still another object.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in-the accompanying drawings, in which'the several elements and the parts or portions comprising which are, wherever applied in the several views, each designated by a distinguishing reference numeral.

stationary clamp member and the top In said drawings: Figure 1 is atop plan;

,Fig. 2, a side elevation, the clamping bow shown as opened-and the shaper in position,

but the segment not shown; Fig. 3, a vertical, transverse sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 8-8 in Fig. 1; Fig. a, a top plan of what I may, because it is to be positioned within the concave gutter, term the male binding segment; and Fig. 5, a rear elevation thereof.

2 indicates a base, comprising a flanged lower portion or foot 3 providing a ledge 3* from which rises an arcuate faced body, the arcuate portion 4 of which constitutes the of which forms not only a rest for the shaper (presently described) but which is used as an anvil in completing the gutter-end. The top 5 and the top of the flange 3 lie in parallel planes, and the face of the arcuate portion 4 is substantially at a right angle to both, for a purpose which will be made clear in the description of the operation, which will presently appear. The opposite sides of the top 5 are provided each with a notch 6. A screw-bolt 7 threaded into an aperture in the side of a lateral projection 8 affords a journal. for a sheave 10. The opposite side of the flange is provided with a threadt ed vertically arranged aperture for engagement therewith of the threads of a screwbolt 13, the stem 'of which provides a fulcrum for one end of a concave clamping how 14, provided on its concave face with notches 15 extending approximately onehalf its depth and each terminating in a shoulder. Its free end is extended to form an ear 1G, in an aperture in which is secured one end of a cord or cable 17, the flight of which passes over the sheave 10 and the other end ofwhich may be secured to a foot pedal or any of the numerous other means by which the cable maybe drawn taut and which are of such ordinary consructio-n that none of them need be herein described.

18 is a female binding-segment, provided on its convex face with projections 12 which fit into the notches 15 in the clamping bow.

19 is a male binding-segment, provided on its concave face with pro ections 20 which 5 engage the notches 6 in the top 5.

21 is a frusto-conical shaper, provided with reeding or corrugations 11 for a purpose presently described. It seats loosely on the anvil-top 5 as shown in Fig. 2 and is provided with a finger piece 22 whereby it may be firmly grasped.

23 is one of a series of apertures in the flange 3, said apertures being adapted for the reception of wood screws (not shown) by which the device may be secured upon a bench or table.

Assume it desirable to close the end of a relatively small (narrow) section of gutter. The bow will be thrown to the open position shown by Fig. 2 and the female binding segment 18 positioned as shown in Fig. 1. The pre-shaped joint end of the gutter section is then placed between the arcuate clamping portion 4 and said segment, its lower edge resting on the flange 8 which constitutes a support therefor and holds it true, whereupon the bow 14; is brought to a firmly closed position by means of the cable 17 and there held in any desired manner. The shaper 21 is then loosely positioned as shown in Fig. 2 and there held, (by means of the finger piece,) by the operator, who with his mallet or hammer will drive the exposed end portions of the gutter section against the shaper to conically crimp the gutter-end in an evident manner. The shaper is then removed, whereupon the operator may readily and quickly batter the crimped portion down upon the anvil 5 to form a seamless, unsoldered, water-tight end. The anviltop and the face of the arcuate portion 5 being at right angles, and the ledge 8 parallel with the former, it will be evident that when the end of the gutter is battered down it will be parallel with the lower (or slip-joint) end thereof, and also that these will be at right angles to the body portion of the gutter proper. It is to be understood that the end section of a gutter is generally a short piece, some 2 to inches in length. Its pre-jointed end is placed within the clamp, its longitudinal dimension at a right angle to the anvil-like top, and also to the ledge on which its lower or joint end rests. To form a larger end the male binding segment 19 is employed, its lugs 20 engaging'the recesses 6 in the top 5. (The segment 18 is now laid aside.) The joint end of the gutter section is in this case placed against the outer convex surface of said segment 1.9 and the operation proceeded with as above de scribed. The curved upper angle of the top 5 being sharp will, as the operator bends the gutter end thereover, form an accurate transverse line thereacro ss, which line will be preserved in the final operation of battering the corrugations down.

It will be manifest that in forming the ends of slip-joint sections the operator need not exert sufiicient pressure upon the cable to cause the clamping means to close or otherwise injure the joint.

It has been throught neither necessary nor best to encumber this specification and the accompanying drawings with descriptions and draw'ingsof elements or of modifications which are neither essential to nor form any part of the invention hereinafter claimed. In fact, it is apparent without such that numerous unimportant changes in the details of construction will at once suggest themselves, but that they will be of such a nature as require only mechanical skill to produce.

Therefore, without limiting myself to particularities or to the precise construction shown, I claim the following, to-wit:

1. A gutter-end-former comprising a base providing a ledge upon which one end of the gutter is adapted to stand, and having a semicircularly faced portion rising perpendicularly therefrom and adapted to receive the concave of the gutter, the last recited portion having a less cross-sectional area than said flange and their upper faces parallel, a binding segment adapted to seat on said flange and its face to oppose said semicircular face, and a clamping-bow adapted to be swung into substantial parallelism with said segment, the top of the semicircularly faced portion affording a plane faced anvil on which one end of a gutter may be buttered down into the concave after being bent at the angle formed at the junction of the face and top, the lower edge of said gutter resting on said ledge and its lower portion adapted to be clamped by said segment and locked by said binding bow.

2. A gutter-end-former comprising a base providing a ledge upon which one end of the gutter is adapted to stand, and having an arciform-faced portion rising perpendicularly therefrom and adapted to receive the concave of the gutter, the up )er faces of said portions being parallel, a bin in g-bow a dapted to swing into parallelism with said arciform portion and to rest when in operative position over said ledge, and means for bringing it to said position, the angle at the junction of the top and face of the arciformfaced portion being sharp and adapted for bending the upper portion of the gutter thereover inwardly and at a right angle to its longitudinal axis, and said top adapted for use as an anvil, whereon said inwardly bent portion may be battered down at said right angle.

3. In a device of the nature described, an element comprising a unitary upper and lower portion. said upper portion having a semicircular face and a plane top, and the lower portion being flanged therefrom and having an upper face parallel with said top and substantially at a right angle to said face, and a concave clamping bow in pivotal engagement with said element and its face when in closed position confronting said semicircular face, the angle at the junction of the top and the semicircular face affording a sharp edge over which the upper portion of a gutter, the lower end of which rests on said ledge, may be bent in a line transverse to its longitudinal dimension, and the top affording an anvil on which said bent portion of the gutter may be battered down to close the end thereof.

4. A gutter-end-former comprising a base having a semicircularly arranged foot providing a ledge, and having also an arcuatefaced portion above said foot, the tops of said portions being parallel and the arcuate face perpendicular to both, a removable binding segment of selective size adapted to rest on said ledge and one of its faces to parallel said arcuate face, a binding bow arranged to swing into substantial parallelism with said segment, and means for holding it in said position, the angle at the junction of the top and face of the arcuate faced portion being sharp and adapted for bending the upper portion of the gutter thereover in wardly and at a right angle to its longitudinal axis, and said top adapted for use as an anvil whereon said inwardly bent portion may be battered down at said right angle.

5. A device of the nature described comprising a base having a flanged port-ion providing a ledge, and a portion surmounting it and of less superficial dimension, the up er faces of both being plane and their forward faces semicircular, a removable semicircular binding element, one of its edges adapted to rest on said ledge and its concave face con fronting and conforming to the conformation of said semicircular portion, and a clamping bow adapted to swing into parallelism with said binding element, the angle provided at the junction of the upper face and the higher semicircular face affording a sharp edge over which the upper portion of a gutter section may be bent transversely to its longitudinal line, and inwardly, and said top affording an anvil on which the said bent portion may be battered down to close the end thereof.

6. In a gutter-end-former, a base having an anvil-like top and a flange providing a semicircular ledge, said portions lying in unequal horizontal planes, there being a vertically arranged semicircular face intermediate said portions, the lower end of the gutter adapted to rest on said ledge, its convex portion to embrace said face, and its upper portion to project above said top, the angle between said top and face being sharp and constituting a guiding edge over which the said upper portion of the gutter may be bent at a right angle to the longitudinal dimension thereof, and on which anvil-like top the bent over portion of said gutter may be battered down to close the end thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereto sign my name at Galesburg, Knox county, Illinois, this 27th day of April, 1912.

WILLIAM B. SHOEMAKER.

Witnesses C. L. OGDEN, WEBB. A. HERLOOKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

